"General, we can't do this anymore! This Heavenly Sword is so powerful! It's like one man becomes an army!"
In the dark night, with the cold air and the rumbling sound of horse hooves, while Li Li was being beaten next door, his trusted subordinate Zhang Gongshen made suggestions to Luo Shu, who was lying on the horse in a state of embarrassment. "And we are like pythons being beaten on the head. We have a military advantage, but we can't use it at all! We can't run! If we continue like this, we will be beaten to death before midnight! We can't say it by then. There will be many casualties!"
"I know!" Luo Shu looked at the golden light flashing in the distance and trembled. "But I have already separated from Li Li...if we separate again, we won't even be able to stop him!"
"But it still doesn't work. In addition to Bai Sanniang, there are two Ningdan on the opposite side! In addition, there are also the assembled tribesmen!" Bai Xiangui next to him pointed at a stream of light following behind him as a reminder. "Wang Zhen is chasing us from behind. We can't get away from both ends, and we are being beaten constantly... In short, we can't go west!"
"Where are we going if we don't go west?" Luo Shu's mind was obviously not spinning after being beaten a few times.
But Bai Xiangui didn't have time to answer, because the golden light turned here again under the guidance of Wang Zhen behind him, and another golden light several feet wide swept down.
Luo Shu said nothing and tried his best to fight back. His energy and blood were still boiling, but this time after blocking several attacks, there were obviously screams on his side. There were many casualties, but it was extremely difficult in the dark night. Just got hit.
"Old Bai! Are you still alive?!"
As Bai Yousi left, in the dark night, Luo Shu didn't care about his injuries or checking on the dead and wounded guards, but hurriedly came to ask questions. "Say quickly! What were you going to do just now?!"
"Order all the troops to disperse and go home! Go north and return to Youzhou!" Bai Xiangui tried his best to answer, but his tone was a little distorted, but he didn't know if he was injured. "This is the Dengzhou reinforcements from the Deposed Dragon Gang. They are going to support the main battlefield in the west. We are going west at this time, and they are just following us all the way. But if we go north, they are unlikely to keep going. Keep chasing, and we are cavalry, let’s break up and run home, so they can’t chase us anymore!”
Luo Shu hesitated for a moment.
Zhang Gongshen, who was standing next to him, immediately asked for him: "But what are you going to tell Mr. Xue? Moreover, once the cavalry brigade disperses at night and wants to gather it, it will be unknown that year or month... and the battle will be over."
"How can we still care about this now?" Bai Xiangui replied with all his strength. "Our family is almost in ruins! Of the dozen or so old brothers, four or five have no news, and the major generals are all gone!"
Hearing the last word, Luo Shu yelled with all his strength: "Then give the order, let the whole army disperse, everyone accepts their destiny, and detach the troops to go north and go home! Everyone disperse and pass the order!"
"General!" Zhang Gongshen heard the military order and tried his best to respond. "You guys go back to the north. I'll go to the Ma Mian River camp on my own and give them an explanation! This will save you the embarrassment of facing General Manager Xue in the future!"
"Go!" Luo Shu replied immediately. "But don't go to see Xue Changxiong. To save yourself the trouble, go see Chen Bin and get the news and come back!"
"Yes." Zhang Gongshen nodded, and just followed the guidance of the stars in the dark night, hugging the horse's neck and continuing westward.
Behind him, eight thousand Youzhou cavalry, just because of exhaustion after a day of galloping, ran into a King of Hell. They were unable to perform their attacks and were beaten on the head. After being beaten until now, no matter how hard it was to hold on, they actually lost their helmets and armor. The whole army broke up and fled north in the dark.
If Zhang Xing were here, I don't know if he would be ashamed.
He held twenty-five battalions of soldiers and horses, gathered most of the elites of the Deposed Dragon Gang, gathered hundreds of thousands of auxiliary soldiers, field soldiers, and civilians, and deployed so many supplies from the east. After learning the news, he quickly established Qipan Village , fought for seven or eight days, but the result was only thousands of casualties and casualties in the back and forth, and the family also lost a leader.
As a result, Bai Yousi had just arrived, so he just took Yangxin City first. It was an empty city, but then he defeated eight thousand Youzhou cavalry that night and drove away one Cheng Dan and one Ning Dan. It was really terrifying.
Of course, everyone knows that Zhang San will definitely not feel ashamed, he will only be complacent.
And it is impossible for him to know now. For him, he just sent Xie Minghe out early yesterday morning to meet Bai Yousi. Now he is still worried about Niuda's life and death. How could he know so many things?
At dawn, Zhang Gongshen, who was highly skilled in riding, arrived at the Mamianhe camp of the government army. He came to the camp of Supervisor Sima Chen Bin with ease and was summoned.
"Bai Sanniang leads the Dengzhou army to Yangxin? We all the army was defeated last night?" Chen Bin, who had obviously gotten up temporarily and was only wearing a leather cloak, was stunned when he came up. "you sure?"
"The whole army has been defeated! My young general doesn't know whether he is alive or dead, and all the troops scattered and fled!" Zhang Gongshen said one thing. "Bai Sanniang's Yitian Sword is so powerful. We were also unlucky. We marched in a dull manner. When the whole army was exhausted, we ran into the city. Then she chased our general all the way... The leader of the deposed Dragon Gang, the Great Sage. Wang Zhen was also there, the Dengzhou Army was also there, and there was another veteran Taoist Dan Condensation master who called himself Xianyun Yehe. We couldn't resist it at all. After holding on for a while, we really didn't dare to hold on any longer, so the whole army dispersed and headed north... …I’m here specifically to summon you.”
Chen Bin stared at the other party without saying a word.
Zhang Gongshen quickly said: "Chen Sima, I'm not lying to you. After dawn, I estimate that sporadic defeated troops will definitely come before noon. In the evening, or tomorrow, the Dengzhou Army will come without warning. There is no need to lie to you about this kind of thing... ...Besides, Chen Sima himself can also send people to the east to investigate."
Chen Bin still said nothing.
Zhang Gongshen didn't know what to say.
Finally, Chen Bin spoke again: "Are you sure?"
Zhang Gongshen was completely silent.
The two stared at each other for a long time. After all, Chen Bin tried to stand up, but he couldn't stand up after standing up. He stood up again and fell again. Zhang Gongshen couldn't help but stepped forward to support the other person. This person who had already condensed his elixir The former romantic child of the Nanchen royal family just barely stood up.
"Tell me... have you told anyone else about this news?" Chen Bin said in a vain tone.
"Of course not." When Zhang Gongshen saw that the other party had slowed down, he let go and quickly answered. "I have been a vanguard in Youzhou for more than ten years. How come I don't know the importance of military secrets? I was just ordered to talk to Chen Sima about this matter."
Chen Bin nodded: "That's enough...where did you lose?"
"If we collide head-on at the foot of Yangxin City, we will be immediately defeated." Zhang Gongshen sat across from him again.
"when?"
"The second update didn't arrive yesterday."
"When did it break up..."
"The third watch hasn't arrived yet."
"How much of the army went north?"
"They are all cavalry, but the general is chased and beaten, and the soldiers are chased and killed. Once they are separated, they will naturally go back to their hometown..."
"Going to Leling?" Chen Bin suddenly woke up.
"It's true." Zhang Gongshen also reacted suddenly. "The three cities of Leling, Wudi and Rao'an are close to each other, as well as the garrison of the Hejian camp, and the governor of Bohai Zhou. It is impossible to say that they will be able to gather there this afternoon..."
As he spoke, Zhang Gongshen stood up abruptly.
"What are you doing?" Chen Bin immediately became nervous.
"I..." Zhang Gongshen was also a little at a loss for a moment.
"I will send messengers everywhere for everything, how can I use you?" Chen Bin quickly scolded. "Just sit down and don't cause trouble. If I have any words, documents, or replies, I will come to you later."
Zhang Gongshen nodded and sat back.
After confirming the news, Chen Bin walked out of his tent wearing a fur cloak, but was blown away by the cold morning wind and shivered on the spot.
In fact, he realized immediately that he was in big trouble.
But now, he must force himself to calm down, analyze the situation, think about strategies, and evaluate these strategies.
First, the situation is clear.
This is a matter of coincidence. Governor Zhou was talking nonsense in order to avoid the front line. Chen Sima also guessed that the other party was talking nonsense. However, this self-righteous "clearness" actually covered up the real danger - deposing the dragon. The Dengzhou reinforcements of the Chinese army really came from the sea.
This also explains why Bai Sanniang, who was still here in Ban County during the Chinese New Year, disappeared after the war started. She had no reason to leave - unless she hurried back to recruit reinforcements.
But that doesn't matter. There are two real dangers now.
One is that after Bai Yousi and the Dengzhou Army defeated the Youzhou Army, they would arrive at the main battlefield in a short period of time. This would greatly increase the strength of the Deposed Dragon Army in a short period of time, and would make the already unstoppable bypass attack possible. The attack is useless and even dangerous.
As for the Qutuda Division, purely in terms of distance and time, even if they can regain another victory, that will be a matter of the future, but there will be many variables in the future.
This is a danger to the overall situation. In the next two days, the military operations of Hejian Camp will enter an obvious period of risk.
Another aspect is Chen Bin's personal danger.
Why was he so scared that he lost his temper just now? It’s actually self-explanatory. What does the overall situation have to do with him? Does he, a remnant of the Chen Dynasty, care? But the problem is that this matter is his own huge responsibility. Xue Changxiong did indeed express his attention to the possibility of Dengzhou reinforcements and scolded him early, Chen Bin, the supervising Sima, for his dereliction of duty in this matter. .
Therefore, once the news comes, General Xue is likely to be angry with him for it.
Even further, if the military suffers another setback due to this matter, especially if the partial division of troops causes huge losses, which directly affects the victory of this battle, who will be responsible?
There are only three people involved in the plan of "Don't Move the Pianshi". Cao Shancheng is the initiator and Xue Changxiong is the leader. He is the one who arranges the plan and cannot escape the others.
However, the root cause of the matter is that I neglected my duty! So, what will Xue Changxiong do with himself?
What will happen to Prefect Zhou, whose guilt is obviously much lighter than his own?
"I killed him with my own hands!"
In the morning mist, when Chen Bin thought of these words, he actually didn't shiver anymore, because he once again repeated the emotional path of the previous two days - fear was followed by shame.
Great fear, leading to great shame.
After pausing for a moment, he suddenly got up, took a horse, and went straight to Xue Changxiong's camp.
Arriving at the camp, starting from the entrance gate, there was no obstruction, allowing him to go straight to Xue Changxiong's Chinese army tent. Even the soldiers and officers on duty along the way were all respectful - after all, as a supervising army commander, plus a general He is directly responsible for the general affairs and secrets of the camp, and is the actual immediate boss of many people here.
After entering the big tent, sure enough, the several confidential clerical officers on duty were dozing off at their desks by the brazier. Chen Bin hesitated for a moment, then walked over and knocked the leader on the forehead.
The leading officer woke up in surprise and saw that it was Chen Bin. He stood up in a panic and kicked several subordinates awake before saluting.
"Everyone, come to the side tent." Chen Bin put his hands behind his hands and whispered with a dark face. "Don't disturb the steward."
Several officers were anxious and had no choice but to follow them out, but they didn't notice at all that the usually steady and steady supervisor Sima's hands and feet were slightly trembling.
Turning to the side account, Chen Bin came to ask seriously: "Where do you think Wang Fubei is now?"
"It's hard to say, but I definitely haven't reached Leling." The leading officer, who didn't know why, breathed a sigh of relief, suppressed the urge to yawn in front of the supervisor Sima, and tried to cheer up to answer. "The distance between Leling and this place is too awkward. It is difficult to calculate the itinerary without baggage. To put it simply, traveling lightly, one day is too short, two days is a little longer... If I were General Wang, I would have walked thirty or forty days yesterday. We stopped here, and then we will work hard today and walk more, and then return to Leling in the evening."
"What about the Leling garrison?" Chen Bin asked coldly and reminded him.
"Maybe we haven't set off yet." The subordinate officer felt increasingly confused, but still answered seriously. "Shouldn't Leling wait until General Wang arrives before leaving?"
Chen Bin nodded and asked again: "Master Zhou came from Wudi and said he would arrive here at noon today. Where do you think he should be now?"
"Nine times out of ten, we collided with General Wang Fubei." the leading officer blurted out.
"That's right." Chen Bin sighed. "It's like this. There is something temporarily going on in Bohai. I have gone to the back tent to discuss with the general manager. I want to ask General Wang Fubei to turn to Yangxin to join the Youzhou Army. At the same time, I want to mobilize Bohai County soldiers and Leling garrison to listen to Wang Fubei. General Bei took command and marched south together. There is another one, as you all know, who wants to punish Prefect Zhou... It is still early and the steward has gone to sleep. Let's try not to disturb us and prepare a few documents here. !”
All the important officers came to their senses.
"You are here to mobilize the county soldiers, and you are here to write a letter asking General Leling Han to temporarily obey General Wang Fubei's command and dispatch. You must use a strict tone." Upon seeing this, Chen Bin formally ordered. "And you, come and write a letter asking General Wang Fubei to take what Lord Zhou Fu handed over to me... Remember, this matter is a military secret and must not be leaked at all."
"Understood!" The officers on duty who were called nodded in succession.
A few people immediately poured hot water into the side tent to dissolve the ink, and started using paper and pen on the spot. The officers wrote three copies of the confidential documents, and Chen Bin wrote one himself... They were all used to doing paperwork and sketching. After that, those people took the initiative to present the documents to Chen Bin for review.
"Okay." After reading, Chen Bin nodded slightly, then stood up and continued to give instructions. "Be quiet, follow me back to the tent, and use the seal to get the tiger talisman."
The officers immediately turned back with them without thinking.
When he returned to the camp, Chen Bin openly took a big seal from the commander's case, gave several documents his own seal, and then put them one by one into the document bag, only for the leading officer to hold them, and then personally stood aside. A simple first-level universal troop-mobilizing tiger talisman from the Zhonglang General of the Hejian Camp was calmly removed from the hanging bag, and was also put into a small leather bag. It was still placed on top of some document bags for anyone to hold.
Then, he walked out of the tent.
A group of confidential officers directly under Xue Changxiong were sent out again, and someone took the initiative to lead a horse over and walked to the gate of the camp. Only then did Chen Sima take the document bag and the tiger charm leather bag from the hands of the leading officer. : "Remember, if there is a military meeting in the morning and I won't be able to rush back in time, the manager won't ask you and don't be too fussy. If you ask about me, there will be many people around, so just tell him that I went to pick up Mr. Zhou in person. He Naturally you will know what is going on."
After saying that, he got on his horse and headed back to his base camp.
The confidential officers watched their superiors leave and disappear into the morning mist before turning back.
After walking a few steps, the leading officer suddenly shook his head with confusion on his face: "Chen Sima is not feeling right today."
Everyone was surprised.
"He actually didn't report the crime, but instead nodded my head to wake me up." The officer explained.
The rest of them laughed, and one of them said seriously: "This is a gesture of intimacy. Lieutenant Yu is about to be promoted."
Everyone laughed more and more, and the lieutenant clerk also laughed, and they went back together. When they returned to the tent, they did not dare to say a word. Coupled with the cold weather, they became drowsy again. This is something to say later.
On the other side, Chen Bin returned to the camp, called out Zhang Gongshen, picked up a few horses, and headed downstream along the Ma Mian River together.
Although Zhang Gongshen was curious as to why the other party did not bring an entourage, there was such a gap in status that he could do nothing if the other party did not tell him.
The two masters of cultivation were galloping on light horses, taking turns changing horses. Before the mist dispersed, they saw a temporary military camp on the roadside from a distance. They went to investigate and found that it was indeed Wang Fubei's tribe.
Wang Fubei's tribe was having breakfast at this time. When he heard that Chen Sima had arrived in person, the general Wang Fubei did not dare to neglect and hurried out to greet him.
After meeting Wang Fubei, Chen Bin simply came to the camp gate and asked:
"Is Governor Zhou here?"
"Yes." Wang Fubei was stunned for a moment and answered immediately.
Chen Bin didn't say much. He found a document and handed it to the other party: "Watch him first, don't let him escape... He may be punished."
Wang Fubei was puzzled, but he immediately nodded after reading the document signed by the general manager, turned around and gave instructions to his confidants.
Immediately, Chen Bin stretched out his hand and pointed at Zhang Gongshen: "Let's go in. Lieutenant Zhang just told General Wang about Yangxin's military situation along the way."
Even though Zhang Gongshen was always cautious, he couldn't help but "wake up" at this moment, and immediately explained to Wang Fubei, walked to the Chinese army tent, and just finished speaking.
After listening to the narrative, Wang Fubei "awoke" to why he wanted to capture Prefect Zhou, but at the same time he became frightened and stood still in the Chinese army's tent.
"There is another document." Chen Bin continued to take out a printed document, and at the same time took out the dispatching lieutenant general level tiger talisman and handed it over. "The general manager has an order. The rebel army must have taken Yangxin in a hurry yesterday. The soldiers are tired and the city is empty. Therefore, he wants you to quickly go south and capture Yangxin City while the rebel army is scattered and chasing the Youzhou Army."
Wang Fubei took the document and the tiger charm and just opened it. He could hear the other party's words, but it was like falling into an ice cave. After a long while, he asked: "Does the general want me to die?"
This is the truth... The eight thousand Youzhou army was defeated in half a night, and Wang Fubei's army itself was a unit that suffered a lot of losses in the previous battle. The number of combatants was only more than two thousand. In Yitian Sword and Dengzhou What chance does the army have of winning?
Zhang Gongshen was a kind man and couldn't help but sigh on the spot.
And even he, too, believed in this military order.
He has known a thing or two about Xue Changxiong's temper these days. In desperation, isn't it quite reasonable to express his anger at Bohai Zhou Mansion Lord and let the motley army with a delicate position take a gamble?
If the bet is lost, there are only two thousand soldiers. If the bet is won, the situation cannot be saved.
Chen Bin's face was expressionless: "Look at the document, the general manager is doing this just because you are in this position to facilitate the march. How can he sincerely force you to die? But I, because I am in charge of military affairs, was angered like Lord Zhou last night. I also want to go to Yangxin with you... Are you the only one who is going to die?"
Wang Fubei hurriedly looked through it, and sure enough it was written like this in the document. Then he felt completely helpless and almost cried in the end: "What can I do?"
"Lieutenant Zhang and the others should stay out of the way first." Chen Bin was still calm and just waved his hand to drive everyone away. Then when there were only two people in the Chinese army tent, he took a step forward, bowed his head and spoke sincerely. "General Wang, I have a suggestion now... listen to it. If you agree, we will do it. If you don't agree, I will not admit the one-sided remarks afterwards."
Wang Fubei quickly threw down the documents and tiger talisman, held the opponent's hand and said, "Please give me some advice from Chen Sima."
"It's very simple. I am a remnant of Nanchen, and you are a powerful man in Hebei. We have devoted our lives to General Manager Xue, but he has treated us like this time and time again... Why should we hang ourselves from a tree?" Chen Bin raised his head and spoke. More and more sincerely. "The current situation is that the Youzhou Army has dispersed and Dengzhou reinforcements have arrived. Nine times out of ten, the Deposed Dragon Army will be able to win this battle. There will definitely be a place for the Deposed Dragon Army in Hebei in the future; apart from that, what else? There happens to be an old acquaintance of mine among the reinforcements of the Deposed Dragon Army in the direction of Yangxin... In this case, you take the troops, and I take Zhou Fujun. We pretend to obey the military orders and march south, and use these two things as support when we go to the place. After deposing the Dragon Army, wouldn’t it be a sudden enlightenment? As for the family members, you now send some people to the clan to send a message, asking them to come south regardless of all costs, and then they can hide behind the salt mountain. "
When Wang Fubei heard the first two sentences, he had already guessed what the other party meant, and was shocked for a moment. When he heard the narration later, he knew the pros and cons and the feasibility, but he was also completely moved.
After Chen Bin finished speaking, he just looked at the other person's expression and waited quietly.
"Okay!" After a few breaths, Wang Fubei suddenly gritted his teeth and agreed. "He is unkind and we are unjust. We all joined the Deposed Dragon Gang! Chen Sima becomes the big leader and I become the leader. It feels like we are being slaughtered here!"
Chen Bin felt relieved. If the other party didn't agree, he would have no choice but to escape to the other side alone. How could he have the solemnity to bring an army of Wang Fubei and a Bohai prefect with him?
This is all capital!
Now that the two of them had decided, there was no hesitation. Wang Fubei privately sent his clan members to go to their homes in the north to make contact, and asked the clan members to go south to Yanshan to escape. At the same time, he summoned his subordinates to issue military orders and headed directly to the southeast.
The subordinates didn't know that Yangxin in the southeast had been defeated, so they were naturally speechless. Zhang Gongshen, on the other hand, was really a conscientious man. He knew the "inside story", but he gritted his teeth and still wanted to follow.
Of course, so far, Chen Bin's plan has been too perfect, so the accident will always come in time when it should come.
When the march reached noon, a group of defeated soldiers from Youzhou suddenly came forward. They told Wang and Chen that it turned out that after gathering the deposed dragon thieves in Yangxin City in the morning, they had already "retracted" to Ban County in the west along Douzigang. The camp went.
In other words, Yangxin City is probably really empty at this time.
Wang Fubei could have "obeyed the military orders" and gone to Yangxin City honorably without betraying the enemy.
For a moment, Wang Fubei even felt a little emotional about Xue Changxiong's "knowledge of soldiers".
"Chen Sima." Sure enough, after hesitating for a moment, Wang Fubei invited Chen Bin to the roadside and spoke in a low voice. "At this point, aren't we lucky enough that Sanhui and Siyu came to help us? Why not just pretend that we didn't say what we said earlier?"
"General Wang."
Chen Bin thought for a moment and immediately took the other person's hand, still sincerely. "Let me tell you something, don't be angry... In fact, all the military orders were forged by me. I couldn't go back anyway, so I had to go and surrender to the Dragon Army; but you were supposed to go to Leling, but you took The troops followed me here, and even asked the clan members to abandon their homes and go to Yanshan to seek refuge. This cannot be hidden. Do you think Xue Changxiong will be able to tolerate you again? So, you can't go back either. Let’s grit our teeth and head to Ban County camp together!”
Wang Fubei was stunned and could not refute.
And Chen Bin had already jumped out of the horse and gave the order in public: "The commander-in-chief's military order is to pursue this bandit army... We will take advantage of the opportunity to cross Pingchang and return to the front line, and camp at the foot of Tushan Mountain!"
When the surrounding sergeants heard this, they all complained and only went to see Wang Fubei.
Fortunately, Wang Fubei came from a powerful family, and most of his troops were his own children, so he always kept his word, so with just a reluctant nod, the troops turned around and headed west amid complaints.
After all, Wang Fubei had long been ostracized in the Hejian camp because he didn't know how to flatter. Later, after the Leling battle, he became a scapegoat, and he became angry and resentful early on.
And Chen Bin chose to come to General Wang not just because the other party happened to be in this delicate position.
Before evening, this hungry army first came to the rear of Pingchang County controlled by the Dragon Army, and then took advantage of the situation to stop.
Immediately, Wang Fubei announced his decision, began to clean up the die-hards in the army, and sent envoys to Pingchang City.
Besides, in fact, since noon, many defeated Youzhou soldiers have circled back to the official camp of Ma Mian River. However, Chen Bin should have been responsible for compiling the military information. Therefore, when Murong Zhengyan finally noticed the problem, asked about the military information personally, and hurriedly came to report to Xue Changxiong, it was already late in the afternoon.
Then, almost at the same moment when Wang Fubei sent a surrender messenger to Pingchang City, Xue Changxiong, who hurriedly convened a military meeting in panic, suddenly realized that Chen Bin was not there, and couldn't help but ask about Chen Sima's whereabouts: "Where is Chen Sima?" ?”
In response to this, a deputy lieutenant surnamed Yu, who was in charge of confidential documents, immediately stepped out and respectfully replied: "Reporting to the manager, Chen Sima went to pick up Lord Bohai Zhoufu early in the morning."
At that moment, General Xue, who had no time to think about it, nodded instinctively.
(End of chapter)
